Coyotes News

'Yotes Notes: Team Seeks Redemption vs. Jets on Thursday

GLENDALE – Looking to shake things up after a humbling 6-0 loss to St. Louis the night before, the Coyotes did not practice on Wednesday and opted instead for some work in the gym.

Next up is a home game vs. the Winnipeg Jets on Thursday night.

Michalek

"The good thing about our sport is you can redeem yourself," defenseman Zbynek Michalek said. "The games are so close together, you can just move on and hopefully (the) next game will be better… You don’t want to be that team that gets embarrassed, especially on home ice in front of our fans. So that’s not acceptable. That’s not how we want to play, that’s not how we want to be. We have to go back to our ways, be a hard team to play against and do it for one another in the room. Hopefully we can come out with a better effort tomorrow."

If you’re looking for a silver lining consider this: the Coyotes are 4-2-0 this season in the first game played after being shut out. And in those games Arizona is averaging four goals per game.

The Coyotes began the 2014-15 season by hosting the Jets on Oct. 9. The Jets spoiled the party by handing the Coyotes a 6-2 defeat in front of a sellout crowd.

"We have to bounce back from that game we had," center Antoine Vermette said. "We do remember they played us hard in the first game of the year (so) you want to bring it back and get back on the right side of the game."

Michalek said the Jets remind him of the St. Louis Blues in some ways.

"They’re another team that’s a big, physical team," Michalek said. "They play with a lot of speed. I know they have some injuries now but they’ve been playing really well this season… Hopefully we can come out with a lot of energy (and) redeem ourselves from last night and hopefully come out with a win."

Vermette

• Vermette was sporting a swollen upper lip on Wednesday after taking a puck to the face within the first minute of Tuesday’s game vs. St. Louis. The team’s second-leading point producer received a half-dozen stitches and played 15:59, about three minutes less than his average ice time for this season.

"All game it was dripping a little bit and I rubbed it a few times and it was bleeding," Vermette said. "Then in the third, right at the end there, it split open again. The stitches didn’t stay so we had to do it again."

He added, "It’s a curveball. You just try to play through it - that’s all you’ve got to do. Obviously that’s not how you plan the game going but you’ve got to deal with it and find a way to come back… Guys take pride to stay in the lineup (despite injuries) and try to have a good game."

Vermette has played 432 consecutive NHL games. That’s the second-longest active consecutive games played streak in the NHL behind only Anaheim’s Andrew Cogliano (581).

• Head Coach Dave Tippett said center Martin Hanzal, who missed Tuesday’s game because of an upper-body injury, was scheduled to see a team doctor again on Wednesday. His status for Thursday’s game is undecided. The Coyotes are 2-4-2 in the eight games they’ve played with Hanzal on the sideline because of injury.

• Prospect Max Domi, who won a gold medal with Team Canada and was named Best Forward at the 2015 IIHF World Championship, was scheduled to help drop the first puck at the Toronto vs. Washington game on Wednesday night at Air Canada Centre.